19 April 2019

Penang Hawker ~ Malaysian - Campsie

It's the noodles that are the pick of Penang Hawker, Malaysian Chinese in Campsie. The char and smoke of the famous food town comes through most vividly in their fried kuey teow, chuck in a duck egg for extra googie goodness.




Penang Hawker has been dishing out Malaysian Chinese for a while now. The shop has undergone a couple of changes, with a hot food bar installed at the front so you can takeaway pre-prepared meals. It's a cramped space where long tables are shared between unrelated diners, causing pangs of food envy when you see what other people have ordered. Just makes you want to reach across and try a little bit. It can get busy and buzzy, something that always adds to the pleasure of dining.


Claypot short rice noodle - $11.80. 'Short rice noodle served in claypot with minced pork and Chinese mushroom'. This is a super rich dish, the dark soy makes it salty and quite full flavoured. We love these short rice noodles, sometimes called rat tails. They're easy to eat and the minced pork sauce coats and soaks them.


Hainanese chicken rice - $11.80. Good amount of nicely cooked chook with the all essential green and red condiments. Hainanese chicken rice just has that perfect curative power for many different states of disquiet. Both mind and body seem to love this dish: the pure protein hit, the texture of the skin and fat, the heat of the chilli, it punches all over.



Nasi lemak special with beef rendang - $12.80. Nice light coconut rice, a sweet sambal and several chunks of mouth melty beef that are pretty good when served. The beef rendang didn't blow us away - until we doggy-bagged it and tried after it has cooled down a couple of hours later - oh my giddy aunt the spices, cocount and lardy richness shine through.



Penang Asam laksa - $14.80. This tamarind based sour broth soup is a big favourite. It's got enough of a punch but the fish seems a little light on and the black treacle like shrimp sauce is missing. You can never really get this right without fresh pineapple and torch ginger flower, we are prepared to forgive some omissions but perhaps not the one of the better versions we've had.


Penang fried koay teow with duck egg - $13.80. Now this has some bang! the fried noodles are really something special, fried with just theright amount of char and smoke. Adding a duck egg gives it an overall extra lushness, but it doesn't need it to lift it into the special stratosphere, it's already there. Finding the small bits of crisp lard is a porky treasure hunt we love.


Mamak mee goreng - $11.80. Yellow wheat noodles fried through with a creamy egg sauce and bits of pork and prawns. Noodles are done well here and although we try and resist eating the whole plate it never really happens.


Penang Hawker is at 275 Beamish Street Campsie.



Penang Hawker Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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